Don't Know Much About Mythology - Kenneth C. Davis [181]
Hou T’ou (Ti, She) Known as a “prince of the earth,” Hou T’ou is the agricultural and fertility deity who manifests itself as the whole planet. Each year in ancient China, the emperor and village officials all around the country turned over the first spadeful of earth at planting time as part of a fertility ceremony, reflecting China’s preoccupation with feeding its many people.
Huang Di (Huang-Ti) The third of the three sovereigns and a mythical leader whose name means “great god yellow,” Huang Di is also called the “yellow emperor.”* Credited with bringing civilization to China, Huang Di is the supposed inventor of upper and lower garments, weapons, the compass, coins, and government. A peace-loving warrior who has four faces so he can see everything, Huang Di fights four battles. In one battle, he uses water to defeat his brother, the fire god Yan Di, the “great god flame,” and gain the sovereignty of the world. In another battle, Huang Di uses drought to defeat the war god “Jest Much,” who has the weapon of rain.
In the Taoist tradition, Huang Di becomes the supreme god and dreams of a paradise where people live in harmony with nature.
Jade Emperor A deity sometimes known as Yu Huang or Huang Shang-Ti, the Jade Emperor becomes the divine ruler of heaven during the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE). He lives in a heavenly palace similar to those on earth, and governs through a civil service just like that of China. His consort is Xi Wang Mu, “the queen mother of the West,” who is more like the Wicked Witch of the West. A powerful tyrant, Xi Wang Mu sends plagues and punishment down to earth, keeps the elixir of immortality, and presides over paradise.
Lung Although not really a god, Lung is the benevolent dragon associated in Chinese folklore with clouds, mist, rain, and rivers. Less like the demonic creature done in by St. George and more like the benevolent “Puff, the Magic Dragon” of song fame, Lung is such an appealing creature that sometimes the gods take the form of dragons, which eventually will become the symbol of Chinese royalty. The Chinese dragon probably evolved from the serpent, an early royal symbol deemed immortal, since it was able to renew itself when it shed its skin.
Nü Gua (Nü Kua, Nu Wa) The great creator goddess, Nü Gua is a very ancient fertility deity who has remained popular in myth and legends throughout China’s long history. As the divinity who created humans and saved the universe from catastrophe when Gong Gong (Kung Kung) threatened, she is a powerful protector. In the later Han Dynasty times (202 BCE–220 CE), she is viewed as both Fu Hsi’s sister and his wife. In the latter role, she is credited with teaching people how to procreate and raise children.
Panku (Pan Gu) The primal creator god who is a child of yin and yang, Panku is born from a cosmic egg in one of China’s most important Creation myths. With his death, his body parts become the various bits of the universe and earth, and the insects that come from his body become “the black-haired people” (the Chinese). Many scholars think that Panku may have originated elsewhere in Central Asia and arrived in China in the second or third century CE.
Shen Nong Depicted as a divine being with a bird’s head, Shen Nong (“fiery emperor”) is the second of the three sovereigns, a legendary emperor who is the inventor of the cart and who teaches people how to farm. Shen Nong is also the ancient god of the pharmacy, who reveals the healing properties of plants to humanity. In myth, he has a see-through stomach, which enables him to view the effects of his experiments with medicinal herbs. Unfortunately, he tests a kind of grass that causes his intestines to burst.
Shun (Yu Di Shun) One of the three sage rulers of antiquity, Shun is another virtuous ruler-god to whom heaven sends birds to weed his crops and pull his plow.
Tsao Chun (Zao Jun) The very ancient “kitchen god” of Chinese myth, Tsao Chun is the most important domestic deity in China and lives in the niche near the cooking stove in Chinese homes. Portrayed